Iowa, near Fairview, South Dakota — A about a hundred round bales were destroyed in a fire on Friday, April 30, 2021, near Fairview.
According to Fairview Assistant Fire Chief Jerome Vande Stroet, just before 3:00 p.m., the Fairview Fire Department was called to the report of hay bales on fire at 2865 Arthur Avenue, three miles west of Fairview and a little bit north or about three and a quarter miles south-southeast of Beloit.
The assistant chief says the fire department saw about 100 bales fully engulfed in flames as they approached the scene. He says they pulled the bales apart and extinguished them with water, and then buried the ashes to prevent any flare-ups.
Assistant Chief Vande Stroet says there were no injuries but they are concerned that some of the nearby cattle may have had too much smoke.
The fire department was assisted by the Canton and Inwood fire departments.
He says the owner of the property thinks the fire may have been caused by his lawnmower flinging something at the bales like metal or stone sparks or a hot piece of wire as he had just mown next to the bales and a few minutes later noticed the fire.
Assistant Chief Vande Stroet reports that about 100 bales and two round bale wagons were destroyed in the blaze. He says there were alfalfa hay, grass hay, and straw bales.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for four hours.
Later, we had a chance to talk to Fairview Fire Chief Bernie Lang. He says he’d like to thank the volunteers from the Inwood and Canton departments and everyone who helped at the fire call.
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The Sioux Center Fire Department was also called to a fire late on Saturday night southwest of town. The call came in as a large tree pile on fire. Fire Chief David Van Holland says the tree pile was lit on fire on purpose, but it had also burned into a grove. He says the fire department spent about an hour on the scene trying to determine who the property belonged to. He says there were no structures nearby so they let the fire burn. In fact, he says, that as of Monday afternoon, it was still burning.
Van Holland says conditions were not favorable for burning when the fire was lit. He says the person who lit the fire was not on the scene when they arrived.
